Saturday, October 22, 2011

"Daisy Kenyon"

Poor Daisy...Joan Crawford stars on this film noir pic about a working woman torn between two men(Dana Andrews and Henry Fonda). Daisy is dating married lawyer Dan (Andrews). When Dan breaks plans with Daisy again, she says they are through, but Dan talks her into changing her mind.

Daisy goes on a date with Peter (Fonda) a widow who has just returned from war and is on the creepy side. After one night together he tells Daisy he loves her. Her response? "Uh, What?!" She enjoys his company but would rather be with Dan.

After her date, she tells Dan how he is still her number one man. Peter never calls but decides to stalk her from afar.

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Meanwhile, Dan returns home and we get to see how fun his home life is. Dan's wife is a drag and she knows he isn't interested in her. He takes the kids side on everything, so his wife then smacks the kids around. Nice.

Peter finally convinces Daisy to go on another date and within a few minutes, they are married. They move to the coast and we learn that not only is Peter a bit messed up in the head from war trauma, but that in reality, neither one of them really loves each other. Strange.

Dan finds out and is sad. He goes away on a trial and gets beat up in the process. When he returns, he makes a move on newlywed Daisy who won't have it. Dan's wife finds out and wants a divorce. Dan calls together Daisy and her man for a "meeting" to tell them both he is in love with Daisy but nothing happened when he tried to feel her up. Peter is weirdly OK with this. To boot he shares he is in a bitter divorce case for the kiddies.

Awkward.

Daisy agrees to help Dan out and take the stand. Peter tells Daisy if you want to leave me, just say the word and I'll be gone. The trial starts and Daisy must take Dan's side so he can get the children, even though his estranged wife is still beating them during the trial.

"Mommy beats us!"

Daisy can't take it anymore and flees to the coast. Dan and Peter meet up and together go to Daisy to figure out who gets her. She takes a car ride and has a nasty spill.

After she walks home in the snow, the boys are waiting for her. She doesn't want either one of them but eventually one suitor gets to stay.

I must say, although the pickle Daisy is in is strange and far fetched, (I mean come on, who gets married and then agrees to let her ex lover come together to find out who she really wants?)you really never know who she is going to pick. This film is considered on of Joan's best and is the first "woman film noir" film made.

I disagree that this is the first "woman film noir" ever made. It's debatable that this is even a film noir, and I can think of a bunch of women's pictures that were on the noirish side and came out earlier than "Daisy Kenyon." A couple of Ida Lupino pictures spring to mind -- "The Man I Love" and "Deep Valley," both from earlier in 1947. What about "Possessed" with Joan Crawford, also from earlier in 1947? "My Reputation" with Barbara Stanwyck, from 1946? Hell, what about "Mildred Pierce" from 1945?